Who Knew?
by Cookie. Monster 67
Summary: Albus Potter reflects on the life and death of his friend, Alice. Based on the song Who Knew by P!nk. I don't own anything. The works belong to the author.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the _Harry Potter _series. It belongs to the respective author. **

**This was a story I was inspired to write while listening to the song _Who Knew_ by P!nk (I don't own that either!). Enjoy!**

Alice was dead. Nobody had expected she would die, and this young. She was just 16. She had her whole life ahead of her, as was often said by her family. There was no reason for her to die, after all. Her life was going great. She had friends, a loving family, good marks, and a great future. No reason, except for alcohol. Alice loved that stuff. Albus knew. In fact, he had pretty much known Alice better than everyone else, even her father.

She was his best friend. They had done everything together as children. At first, he just played with her because their parents were friends; which by some odd law, made that their kids were friends. Often, their parents would joke about them getting married and what kind of children they would have. Alice and Albus got along famously. It was surprising, considering that there wasn't much to share between them. The first time Albus met her, the thing that had stood out the most to him was her confidence. Nothing could faze Alice. Not even the kids at the playground. Not even her parents. Al wished he could be that brave.

_It was a calm summer's day, the kind they talk about in the books. Naturally, all the children were outside playing in the community playground, drinking soda pop, in the streets. Alice and Albus' parents decided to take their children to the playground to spend the afternoon. While their parents talked, the children babysat themselves. It was a perfect day. _

_Alice was made fun of by the neighborhood children for her odd last name, Longbottom. And her odd behavior; considered normal in the Wizarding Community; magic was made fun of by the Muggle children. But, she didn't mind; just like everything else, it was part of life. _

_On this particular day, several children, forming a group known as "Hell's Angels" to the community had decided to come to the playground looking for fresh blood. Often, they would go around the neighborhood, terrorizing younger kids, as well as "freaks" or anyone out of the norm. Children who had magical abilities were well-known targets._

_Albus looked down the road and saw the gang riding towards the playground in their new bikes. He immediately dropped his toys and ran towards his parents on the bench, hoping he could turn invisible. _

_Alice stood up and faced the bullies. Even though his friend's nose was never the same after that, Albus wished he could have been brave that day. _

Going to Hogwarts for the first time was hard for many of Albus' friends. He remembered on the train how he had talked to Rose Weasley, the stocky red-haired girl who was also his cousin on his mother's side. Over the summer, he had become very close to her. Although she wasn't the same as Alice, Rose was his summertime buddy. Earlier, he'd fought with Alice over a stolen shoe. Pathetic if you asked him.

Talking with Rose made him feel different. For once in his life, he felt confident in himself.

_Albus kissed his mum goodbye. From what James wrote home, Hogwarts seemed like an alright place to him. He couldn't wait to see the food appear on the table for the Welcome Feast. Also, he looked forward to tea with Hagrid, the game keeper at Hogwarts. But, he was still unsure. What if his mates were mean to him? Albus' dad had told him all about school bullies and they could be pretty nasty. _

_The other parents told their children fare-well and Albus climbed onto the train. Rose Weasley, his cousin came and sat next to him. Immediately, she asked:_

"_Where's Alice?" Albus remembered how strange it was that he wasn't with his friend this time. _

"_Oh, I don't know. I had the feeling we weren't meant to last, anyway."_

"_Don't say that, I bet she would never do that." _

"_Anyhow, what do you want to do at Hogwarts?"_

_They went on like that until the train reached Hogwarts. By that time, the two were surrounded by empty candy wrappers, textbooks, and spit-out jellybeans. _

_Albus happily got into a boat, tripping over a fallen textbook along the way. _

His next few years went well at Hogwarts. Eventually, he began to notice Alice a bit more. Not that he didn't know she was there. Just he began to see her with new eyes. In his fifth year, Albus Potter had his first kiss.

_The event didn't happen in a very romantic sense. First of all, it was pouring. Students waited outside the Three Broomsticks eagerly, like flies around a mud-pie. Inside, Alice sat at a table alone, swirling her cocktail with a toothpick. Albus sat next to her. _

_For a few minutes, both remained indifferent. Then, Alice looked up; showing puffy, bloodshot eyes. He looked at her, wondering why she might be crying. Then, she broke the silence._

"_What do you need? I don't run a charity here."_

_Albus was shocked. "Well, same as you, I guess. I wanted to escape the rain."_

_There weren't any words they needed to say. It just happened. Just like that. _

Over the next few months and for the rest of his life; Albus could taste the kiss he had shared with Alice. Although he could so vividly taste it, Albus didn't exactly know what it exactly tasted like. A bit of apple, alcohol, and something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Only later would he realize that it was sadness. That was what made it so special. Albus always thought there would be another snog.

There wasn't one

The one thing that Albus hated about Alice was that she was easily upset. Even her mum and dad said so. One day, she could be his best mate, and the next, she'd run away from him whenever she met him in the hallways. Although he had come to accept Alice's changes in mood, he felt she was really changing. She had begun to become withdrawn, escaping to her dormitory or to a small group of friends in her house.

Even if she hadn't even looked at him in over a month, Albus still felt that her new habits were going to lead her to a dead end and he had to talk to her. Even if neither of them knew it, he was right.

_The Greenhouses were a special place for Alice. When she was younger, her father would take her to Hogwarts for Christmas. This time, her dad was at a faculty meeting. _

_Mostly the students used the unoccupied greenhouses for an illicit rendezvous, to conduct business, and to play pranks on the other students. She remembered how they would be hung with mistletoe, holly, flowers, and various Christmas decorations that the Scamander twins would claim to be infested with "Nargles", whatever those were. _

_Sometimes Alice wished she could go back to those days when her own parents weren't always getting mad at her. Whenever her dad caught not doing schoolwork or out on school grounds drinking, he threatened to deduct house points or write her mum. _

_Sure, he would probably forget the next day. Alice knew Neville Longbottom. He was just jealous that he never had any friends to hang out with. Her mum was dead, after all. She had died after drinking too much. Alice always thought she had had a loose screw anyhow. _

_Today, she was in Greenhouse Five waiting for some friends to arrive. Alice didn't care what her stupid parents thought. They were too thick to understand, anyway. _

_Albus walked in through the door of Greenhouse Five. He had unfinished work from Herbology class the previous day. Immediately, he was aware of his friend unconscious on the ground with an empty bottle of Fire Whiskey. Albus left. He felt that homework could wait. That was one thing he regretted doing. One thing Albus knew for certain was that Alice would have told his parents had she been in his place. _

_The truth was that he was just scared. But that just made Albus feel even guiltier._

Allbus tried his very best to avoid Alice. Most people thought that it was strange that Albus was trying not to look at his best mate. He couldn't tell them, though. He knew her problems. Unfortunately, he was too afraid to tell the teachers or even his parents. Not that there was much he could do at that point. It was too late for her to stop anyway.

_It was Christmas. As usual, it meant that all the parents gathered together at the Potter's house to share drinks and celebrate the holidays. For the children, it meant they would see their friends from Hogwarts and not to mention, no classes. _

_Or it would have, when they were younger. Now, Christmas was all about the parties. It had been a stressful year for the students. In order to release the stress, many turned to drinking. On that particular night, James Potter had invited all his friends from school over to his house. Albus and Lilly were allowed to bring their mates as well. Although Alice hadn't looked at him in a long time, Albus invited her to join the festivities. _

_All night, all any of them cared about were the drinks and the food. There were also games of "Spin the Bottle", and not to mention the dirty jokes that went along with them. In fact, if any of their parents had been there, they would have fainted on the spot. _

_The next morning, all the guests woke up, nursing headaches and trying to remember what happened. Some were wearing only underwear, some nothing. That is, all of them woke up except one. Alice Longbottom was in the bathroom that night by herself. They all found her there the next morning. _

His friend was dead. So what? By the time she died, the only thing she cared about was the whiskey. It didn't make it any different. It was one death too many. Sadly, Albus knew he should've told her Alice's parents. He knew that even if she didn't decide to come back to Earth as a ghost, his best mate would stay with him for the rest of his days. Who Knew?

_ I wish I could touch you again,_

_ I wish I could still call you friend,_

_ I'd give anything. _

_ When someone said count your blessings now_

_Before they're all gone, _

_I guess I just didn't know how_

_I was all wrong_

_They knew better_

_Still you said forever_

_And ever, Who Knew?_

_~From Who Knew by P!nk _

**A/N: In an interview, P!nk says that she wrote this song after finding a friend dead after a heroin overdose. Stop drugs and alcohol before it claims a life. Prevention is the best cure. **

**So … What did you think? I worked really hard on this. Well kind of. Anyway, Do you have a friend or relative that died as a result of drug abuse? Leave a review down below. Au Revoir, mon ami. (Goodbye, my friend).**


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